Parentage
by LFArrianus
Summary: Joker wants what is his back, Batman has to choose between one life and that of all the mothers and babies of Gotham. Rated M due to the sensitive topic raised, do not read if you do not like any dark/sensitive topics, child death mentioned. This was not beta-ed however I read through it a few times before posting. Reviews would be very much loved.


**Comments:**

This will be set out in short paragraphs that jump between points in time, both Batman and Joker are OC throughout in my opinion. For the end of this story to work the Joker doesn't have facial scars, he purely wears the make-up, however I do love his scars.

**Disclaimer:**

I do not in any way own Batman or the characters, I am also making no money from this, it is purely for entertainment. This is my first ever batman fan fiction, I have part written a Harry Potter fan fiction but currently have writers block on how I want to let that story progress, this particular batman/joker fan fiction came to me whilst I watched an episode of batman. I hope that it is not in any way similar to any other fan fiction and if it is I am sorry, this is just a story I really wanted to see play out.

**Warning:**

This story is not suitable for those that do not like dark things, there will be dead babies briefly mentioned, if this disturbs you I don't suggest you read (I tried to be tasteful in how I wrote this but I couldn't leave it out as it was vital for the story to progress the way I had planned it)

**Back story:**

Batman has once again defeated Joker and detained him within the confines of Arkham Asylum, in doing so he lost track of the irritating woman that is Harley Quinn. He has been waiting for her to try and make some attempt at freeing Joker from the asylum, for months nothing has happened, not even a poorly planned robbery for the necessary equipment to get Joker back on the streets, Batman can't help but wonder what Harley Quinn and Joker have planned this time, but he's sure that it isn't good for the people of Gotham, whatever it is.

**Main story:**

"No you don't B-man, you're not going to keep me from Mr J again!" her voice grated on his ears as she performed her annoying acrobats around the rooftop, he threw his batarangs, one hitting the already tied up Poison Ivy, the other just missing Harley Quinn, a shot rang out and he saw the female clown stumble forward and fall against the rooftop. The remaining henchmen ran as he carefully walked over to her, she pulled herself up just to fall back down, he knelt next to her and pulled her onto his lap, he saw that the bullet had gone straight through her chest,

"Bats, I…" she gasped

"Shhh, save your breath!" he put pressure against the wound,

"Bats. Little J. Give him to Joker. Tell him," she took in a shallow shuddering breath, "Tell him, I lo. I love him"

"Who's little J, Quinn?" she smiled as he watched her take her last breath, he closed her eyes and placed her on the rooftop, he turned to Poison Ivy,

"Who's little J?"

"The apartment building on 89th, second floor, number five"

"Who is he Ivy!" she glared at him, sirens started to sound in the distance,

"Very co-dependent, now hurry and get him" Batman started running across the rooftops, Ivy shouting after him to hurry.

He walked down the second floor stopping outside number five, he listened at the door and heard nothing, not even a little movement. He carefully pushed the door open listening for any click of a trap or bomb, when there was none he slowly walked into the room, in the corner stood a large flower like thing, he heard a little whine and he slowly walked closer. As he stood next to the large flower he noticed it was flower in the shape of a cradle with a large purple blanket covering something inside, he gently grabbed the corner and started pulling it back. As he pulled it he saw a white face similar to Jokers, he quickly turned and ducked expecting it to explode, there was a loud moan and he looked back into the cradle. The baby was obviously very young, a month old at the most, its face was painted exactly as Jokers, seeing the face screwed up in frustration made him want to laugh as he imagined Joker pulling the same face. He quickly bundled the babe in the purple blanket and headed out the apartment building, he pushed the button for the bat mobile to come to him, he looked down at the bundle that was starting to wriggle in his arms, he pulled it closer to his chest to keep it from the breeze. The bat mobile pulled up against the kerb and he placed the baby in the passenger seat, he drove as slow as possible making sure the baby wasn't jostled whilst ensuring nobody had followed him back to the bat cave.

Alfred walked up to the car,

"You've returned quite early master Wayne, are you okay?" he got out the vehicle with the bundle in his arms,

"I'm fine Alfred, I have to tidy up, I'll explain later" he walked towards the washroom,

"As long as you're okay master Wayne, would you like to take your dinner in the dining room?"

"I'm not hungry Alfred" he shut the door and placed the bundle on the side, he opened the blanket and looked at the babies face, he grabbed a wipe and started to carefully remove the make-up, the baby opened his eyes and he saw Jokers dark eyes staring at him, there was something slightly different about them as he stared the baby started to cry, the door opened and Alfred came in,

"Master Wayne, is everything okay in here?" he turned to look at the man, the baby just hidden behind him,

"Yeah, no problem here Alfred" he pulled his cowl off, there was a small gurgling noise from behind him.

"What was that?" Bruce looked down slightly then shuffled to the side, the baby just coming into view, "Is that a baby master Wayne?" he nodded,

"By the looks of it, it's Jokers and Harley Quinn's" Alfred walked towards the counter,

"May I enquire as to why it is with you and not its mother?" Bruce sighed,

"Quinn's dead, she wants me to hand him to Joker" Alfred looked at Bruce, he understood why he was even considering giving Joker the child, but he had to see that someone like Joker was not a safe person for a baby to be relying upon to survive.

Joker sat in his cell, laughing at the prospect of breaking out of the asylum again, a guard came up to his cell door,

"Joker, I got a message for you, its from Ivy" he got up and stood close to the bars,

"What time are they getting here?" the guard started to sweat a little, Joker threw his arm through the bars and grabbed him by the throat,

"Ivy is in her special cell, the bat caught them, one of the guys shot Harley, she's dead" Joker pulled him against the bar and leant next to his ear,

"Is that all?" the guard started to gasp for breath,

"She said to tell you, the bat has little J upon Harleys request" Joker started to laugh hysterically,

"Open the door" he released the guards neck slightly, "I said open the door!" the guard fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the key, he opened the door and Joker flung it open, releasing the guard, "Now you get me out of here quick or I'll show your family what your insides look like right before I end their sorry little lives" the guard nodded quickly and started heading down the corridors Joker following closely behind.

Alfred walked into Bruce's room to see the billionaire curled on the bed around a sleeping babe. There was a groan as he opened the curtain,

"Ten more minutes Alfred"

"No time master Wayne, Jokers out of the asylum" he turned the TV on,

"_These findings follow the escape of the notorious madman, Joker, from Arkham Asylum late last night. So far three dead women have been found, the babies in their arms having come to no harm, as of yet we believe the babies belong to the women, each baby having a red grin painted on their face. The women appear to have been shot once in the chest"_

Bruce muted the set, he looked down at the child,

"I'll find him tonight, tell him he can't have little J"

"Little J, sir?" Bruce rubbed his eyes,

"It's what Quinn called him, no doubt after Joker" he pulled the blanket up over the babies uncovered shoulders, "I'm going to need stuff for him Alfred, just until it's safe to give him to a care home without the risk of Joker taking him"

"I'll get right onto that master Wayne, shall you be going to the office today"

"Not today, I'm going to stay with little J, make sure he's healthy"

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, that'll be all Alfred" Alfred nodded,

"I'll be going out to get some baby necessities soon, I shouldn't be long, if you need anything just call"

"Thanks Alfred, I'm sure I'll be fine"

"Certainly sir" he left the room, as Bruce started to fuss over the waking baby.

Joker sat on the rooftop looking over the city waiting for the bats to turn up and hand over his baby. He had been waiting for almost an hour when he heard a slight movement behind him, he turned to see batman landing on the roof,

"Oh hey Bats, what took you so long?" he skipped forward slightly,

"What do you want Joker" he laughed,

"Oh Batsy, don't play dumb, it doesn't suit you" he growled, "Now give me my son"

"No Joker, a man like you can't look after a child" Joker laughed and moved closer to the Bat until they were practically nose to nose,

"Oh and a man like you can, huh _Bats_?" he drew back slightly,

"You're not having him Joker, especially considering your state" Joker grinned,

"You know Bats I thought you'd say that, so I have an ultimatum for you," he pulled out a phone that had a video on it, it showed a room with three women each clutching a baby, "You can return Little J to me or you can let these mothers suffer a terrible, terrible loss"

"You wouldn't! Even you have your limits Joker" he laughed,

"Are you willing to bet on that? You have three days Bats, bring me Little J and see how far I will go, you took Harley, you're not taking him too" he walked away from the Bat laughing hysterically, "Tick-tock bats"

"I won't give him to you!" Joker stopped laughing and turned slowly,

"What's this, the good little Batsy is going to keep a poor, defenceless child from being with his only remaining parent"

"That's not how it is Joker"

"Oh but it is Bats!" he stepped back up to whisper in batman's ear, "No matter what spin you put on it, you're just like me" he felt rather than heard the crunch as a fist connected with his nose, he pulled the knife from his trouser pocket as he wiped the blood from his chin,

"I'm _nothing_ like you" Joker laughed,

"The only difference between us is the disguises we wear, underneath we're exactly the same" he watched as batman disappeared off the rooftop, "Exactly the same!"

Alfred pulled the curtain open to see that Bruce's bed was vacant, he checked the bathroom but he wasn't there, walking round the manor he finally found him sitting in the kitchen feeding Junior a bottle of formula. Bruce chuckled as he rubbed the babies back and he burped,

"Oh that was a big burp, did you enjoy that?" he wiped a bit of spittle from Juniors chin, "are you getting sleepy again, do you want to go back to bed?" he got up and turned around, "Oh, err, hey Alfred, just feeding Junior" he tucked Junior closer to his chest, "I'll take breakfast once I've put him back down"

"Brilliant master Wayne, would you like for me to make arrangements for his return to his father?"

"No Alfred, he isn't going back to Joker"

"But he is the child's father" Bruce looked down at the baby,

"He is also a psychotic killer Alfred, who knows what he would do to Junior given the chance" he walked past the butler taking care to jostle Junior as little as possible,

"Are you willing to risk the lives of the babies Joker is holding ransom?" Bruce ignored Alfred's comment, there was no way that Joker would keep this particular promise, no matter how insane he is, so not giving back Junior won't be a problem. He sat and watched as Junior slept, the gentle rise and fall of the blanket a constant reassurance, he heard a knock on the door,

"Your breakfast, and the morning paper" he watched as Alfred put the paper right in front of him;

**GOTHAM FEARS FOR ITS MOTHERS AND CHILDREN**

_The mothers of Gotham are warned to take precautions when travelling the city due to the recent murders and the more recent discovery of three missing mothers and babies, it appears there is a connection between the crimes. As of yet there has been no leads as to who has taken the victims but it appears that they were taken by none other than the notorious Clown Prince of Crime, Joker._

"Thanks Alfred" he pushed the paper aside and looked back at Junior,

"Sir, I really think you should re-evaluate the situation, Joker is not known for his humanity"

"Look at him Alfred, so pure, so innocent. How can I hand him over to someone like the Joker to be tainted, made into another monster that I will have to hate" Alfred sighed,

"Can you really sit there and choose one life over three others? You have time to reconsider, I ask you to really think about your decision master Wayne" he turned and left the room, Bruce staring at the sleeping face that scrunched up quickly before going blank again causing him to chuckle slightly.

Joker stood on the roof pacing, the night was nearly over and there had been no sign of the bat, he was just about to leave via the staircase when he saw movement in the shadow,

"Finally, you should know not to keep me waiting Bats, now where's my Little J?"

"He's not here Joker. Where are the hostages?" Joker sneered,

"Na-uh Bats, not until I have my son!"

"I'm not playing your games Joker, tell me where they are!"

"Give me my son!" Batman grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the door, Joker laughed and threw a punch that connected with the side of the bats jaw. He felt he grip on his neck slacken and pushed the dark night off him, he felt the blow to his gut and doubled over, a knee caught his face forcing his head back. Batman forced him to the floor pining him down,

"I said no games, WHERE ARE THEY?" he spat blood in the bats face, a punch whipping his head to the side,

"I want what's mine dark night, nothing you can do will change that" he pulled a knife and jammed it into the bats side jumping up as the grip on him was released, "I'll be seeing you bats" he kicked him in the side and quickly left the roof.

Bruce sat feeding Junior, careful to avoid putting pressure on the stab wound, the television playing in the background,

"_This next video contains disturbing scenes," the screen showed a video with the joker standing in the room with the mothers and their babies cowering behind him "Hey there people of Gotham, I have a little request for your, __**precious**__ rodent vigilante. I want him back tonight Bats, I gave you three days for a reason bats, if you want I could extend your little deadline, but I assure you, the sooner you return him to me the safer it becomes for the mothers of Gotham" he grabbed the baby from one of the mothers who tried to pull him back but was met with a face full of Jokers shoe, Joker pulled a knife and ran the flat of the blade against the babies cheek, "Now I want everyone out there to know, this child's fate was based on the batman's decision, and he made the wrong choice." The blade moved quickly and blood started to coat the Jokers hands as he laughed and thrust the corpse back to its mother, he grabbed the camera so only his face was on screen, "I warned you Bats, take too long and I'm sure you'll have even more blood on your hands" he laughed hysterically as the video ended. "We don't know what you are keeping from him Batman but we ask you to do what is necessary to stop the clowns reign of terror and make it safe once again for the citizens of Gotham city"_

"Sir you have to give him back," he glared at the butler,

"I can't Alfred, I just can't give him to the maniac. Anything else but this, I can't lose Junior"

"I'm not asking Bruce, I'm asking Batman, do what you know you must sir" Alfred put his hand on the mans shoulder, he could see he had grown close to the baby and he had done very little to stop him, the choice he now faced was much harder than it should ever have been,

"Can you look after him today Alfred, I need to think it through alone"

"Of course master Wayne, anything you need."

Joker stepped onto the rooftop and felt the hand collide with his face, he grabbed his nose and laughed,

"Gee Bats, anyone would think you're jealous of my good looks" he felt the hand close round his throat, barely cutting off his air supply, "Ah Bats, what's wrong, you got no fight in yah" the hand tightened a little,

"You're sick Joker, it was a defenceless child"

"I told you what would happen if you kept my son from me" he felt the grip slacken a little before tightening again,

"Don't pin this on me Joker, tell me why I should give you a baby after what I saw, how do I know you won't do the same to him, or do something worse?" he grabbed the hand round his throat,

"Because he is my son, my own flesh and blood. Besides, all you can do is trust me Bats" the hand lowered from his throat, "Are you going to make me wait another day for what I want, remember, I get rather _impatient_" he watched as the Bat moved back into the shadows and slowly returned holding a black bundle in his arms, Joker reached for it and Batman took a step back,

"If you harm him Joker I will make you wish you had never worn your lousy make-up" he carefully handed the bundle over, Joker uncovered the face to see the baby was wearing make-up to replicate his, he laughed and the baby moaned in its sleep,

"Ah Batsy, he's the spit of me"

"It's similar to how Quinn left him" he saw bats holding something in his hand,

"Planning on cuffing me bats, that's not part of the bargain"

"It's Juniors, I got it for him" he placed a bat teddy on top of the bundle, Joker caught it as it started to fall, he saw a gold B on the ear, "Just make sure he gets it" Joker nodded and started walking away, he felt a hand on his shoulder,

"Where are the hostages Joker"

"Oh, they'll be at Gotham general, you can trust me bats, I'm a man of my word!" Batman watched as Joker left the roof cooing at the waking bundle in his arms, he turned and glided from the roof down to the bat mobile and raced back to the manor.

Alfred watched as Bruce came out the bat cave clutching the purple blanket in his left hand, a sullen look upon his face,

"You did the right thing master Wayne"

"I know Alfred, I'm going to bed, have to get into the office tomorrow, let work build up too much" he left the room as his eyes started to well up. He laid down on his bed clutching the blanket in his hands, missing the warmth that use to fill it.

Joker sat watching as little J sucked on the ear of his bat teddy, he took the teddy from his sons hands and twisted it around in hands, studying the ear with the B intently. Little J started to scream when the teddy left his hand, Joker shoved some other teddies next to him but nothing placated him, he gave the bat teddy back to him and the noise stopped immediately as the teddy was sucked on again. Joker started to giggle, who would have thought, father and son infatuated by a bat, his a little less squishy and compliant as his sons.

One week later

Batman stood at the top of Wayne tower looking across the city that had been relatively lacking in criminal activity since Joker had made good on his promise and released the hostages to Gotham general. Apart from the odd robbery at baby stores there was no other activity that could be linked to Joker. The sky suddenly lit up with the bat signal, he headed towards Gotham PD keeping his eyes peeled for any criminal activity on his way. He stood behind Gordon,

"What's he done" Gordon turned round,

"There's a stolen shipment of explosives, they were taken whilst in transit, when the container was opened it had these" he pulled out an evidence bag containing a joker card, he flipped it over to show a bat drawn on the reverse, "Looks like he's calling you out, there was also a baby bib with the letter J, could be connected to his recent mother and child infatuation"

"I'll get on it" he quickly left the commissioner running across the city to the rooftop he assumed Joker would be at.

As he neared the roof he saw Joker sitting on the edge,

"What do you want Joker?" the clown didn't move, he just kept looking down,

"Little J is restless, has been all week. He's only happy when he has that teddy" he slowly got up and turned round, he held little J in his arms, looking at him as he sucked on the bat, "It's making my job a whole lot harder, almost got us caught on that bloody boat, I tell you, he is no good when sneaking explosives"

"He's a baby Joker, talking of explosives where are they?"

"I have a deal for you Bats, I think you'll be most interested in this one"

"What is it?" Joker stepped closer holding the baby out towards him,

"I will give you little J…" Batman rushed forward and took Junior clutching him close, noticing the paint was absent from his face, "Do we have a deal?"

"Yeah, whatever. I'll be keeping an eye on you, don't think I've forgotten about the explosives" he rushed across the rooftops back to the manor, looking down at Junior every now and again making sure he hadn't imagined the whole meeting.

A few nights later he was driving around in the bat mobile patrolling the streets when the signal from Gotham bank started flashing on the dashboard, it took two minutes to speed to the bank. He ran a thermal scan of the building and saw the 4 robbers where all on the fifth floor stairwell heading up, he grappled to the top of the building and headed into the stairwell. He saw the 4 people about three floors down and glided down in front of them, he quickly threw the first one over the side followed shortly by number two, both hanging by a rope round their ankle, the third one smacked him with the butt of a gun, as he went to retaliate the third man fell over the railing, a knife sticking out his back. Batman looked at the fourth guy to see he was wearing a mask, the purple suit a dead give away, he quickly punched him repeatedly before hand cuffing him to the railing,

"Oh come, I don't have time for this, and neither do you" he grabbed him by the lapels,

"What do you mean?" the joker pulled of the mask and grinned,

"You aren't stupid Bats, I recently stole a bunch of explosives and now I don't have the time to stick around the building I just robbed" Batman unlocked the cuffs and dragged the clown up the stairs and across a couple of buildings, he slammed Joker against the wall,

"How long till.." he felt the waxy lips press against his and he pulled away, "WHAT THE FUCK?" he pulled his hand back and snapped it forwards hearing a satisfying crunch as it impacted, "What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me, what's wrong with you Bats, you already forgotten our deal?"

"What?" Joker ran his finger down his cheek, he pulled back,

"Little J is yours, if you are mine" he thought back to the night he had got Junior back, he remembered looking into the sparkling eyes, Joker saying something in the background, knowing he had his little boy back with him,

"I don't remember"

"Don't do this to me Bats. Not me, NOT ME!" he grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled his ear to his lips, "You made a deal Bats and I _am _going to ensure you keep it!" he licked his cheek and as Batman rubbed his cheek in disgust he ran across the buildings, as Batman went to follow him there was an explosion from the bank, he stopped and looked back, chase the Joker or make sure the buildings occupants were safe, he turned and headed back to the bank.

Four months later

Bruce woke to the sound of Junior crying over the monitor quickly followed by the sounds of Jack soothing him, he slowly got out of bed and headed to the neighbouring room. He stopped in the doorway and watched as Jack slowly placed the quieting babe back in the cot, he walked up and hugged him round the middle,

"I told you to be quieter when you come back late" Jack turned in his arms, his Joker face paint still in place,

"I just stopped in to see him before I cleaned up" he leant forward and captured Bruce's lips, after a minute Bruce pulled away,

"Not in the make-up, what if Alfred had seen you?"

"I'm sure he would have called for you Batsy, besides no one's going to know I've escaped for another couple of hours" Bruce stepped back keeping his hands on Jokers hips,

"Was anyone hurt?" Joker pulled him back into a hug,

"This is no time for business. Get back to bed, I'm just going to get cleaned up" he cupped Bruce's cheek and turned to the bathroom, Bruce pulled his hand,

"How long until Batman has to chase Joker?"

"There isn't any particular plan at the moment so we definitely have a few days" Bruce smiled,

"Hurry and clean your face, don't wake him on your way out" he went back to bed pulling the covers up round his shoulders. He felt the bed dip as Jack laid down next to him, his arm coming to wrap around his waist pulling him close,

"Night Bruce, love you"

"I love you too Jack" he felt a tender kiss pressed against the nape of his neck.


End file.
